Introduction: Ovid’s Fasti presents many challenges to the reader: its subject matter, the
festivals and anniversaries of the Roman year, is less immediately accessible
than much of Ovid’s poetry; and unlike his earlier works, where familiarity
with the literary context provides plenty of material for literary criticism, the
Fasti is in constant dialogue not just with literature but also with the fabric
of Rome – its myths and monuments, its rituals and politics. As such, the
Fasti more than many texts requires an awareness of its social, historical and
religious context to be fully appreciated
